The FLA is trying to use the one-year anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing to encourage Islamophobia.

Its leadership aims to build a racist movement on the streets—and the march is another attempt to regroup the British far right.

The demonstration follows a 4,000-strong “free speech” rally that brought together fascist Tommy Robinson, the Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA) and Ukip in London recently.

Around one third of the crowd was young and included supporters of Donald Trump and the alt right.

It’s crucial that large numbers turn out for the Stand Up To Racism and Unite Against Fascism mobilisation against the FLA on Saturday.

Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey and Unison union assistant general secretary Roger McKenzie are the latest union leaders to support Saturday’s anti-racist protest in Manchester.

Other supporters include Labour MPs Andrew Gwynne, Kate Green and Barbara Keeley, Labour councillors and unions from across the North West of England.

The FLA’s public Facebook page still claims it is not racist and that the organisation is against extremism.

These are blatant lies.

Linked

The FLA has linked up with the Democratic Veterans Party, led by former Ukip leadership candidate John Rees-Evans.

He proposed a repatriation scheme of paying British Indians and others with dual nationality £9,000 to leave Britain. This was modelled on a similar scheme by the fascist British National Party.

At the FLA’s last demonstration in Birmingham the star attraction was Tommy Robinson, the fascist former leader of the English Defence League.

Other speakers included far right For Britain party leader Anne Marie Waters, who was judged too racist for Ukip. As parliamentary candidate in Lewisham East, Waters said that the “the only evil we have legalised is Islam”.

The FLA is increasingly in crisis after splits among the leadership. Now is the time to deliver a blow against it.

And while it’s weakened, that doesn’t mean the danger of the far right regrouping isn’t real.

A substantial section of its supporters went with the breakaway DFLA, which plans to march in Manchester on 2 June.

The DFLA is acting as a bridge between the fascists and Ukip. After their wipeout in the English local elections, Ukip is looking to the DFLA as a way of rebuilding its base.

And Robinson sees the DFLA as a chance to rebuild his fascist project. The whole of the left must take the threat of the far right seriously and mobilise against it.

It mobilised around 150 in Telford and around 100 in Rochdale in April.

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